James Thomas Brudenell, seventh Earl of Cardigan 1797-1868

Marjie Bloy Ph.D. Senior Research Fellow,
National University of Singapore

James Thomas Brudenell was the only son of Robert, sixth earl of Cardigan and
his wife Penelope Anne Cooke. He was born on 16 October 1797 at Hambleden, Buckinghamshire.
As Cecil Woodham Smith says:

It was unfortunate that he was destined to grow up in a world that was almost
entirely feminine. He already had an elder sister, and seven more girls followed
his birth, of whom six survived. He remained the only son, the only boy among
seven girls, unique, unchallenged, and the effect on his character was decisive.
He was brought up at home among his sisters, and he grew up as such boys do,
spoilt, domineering and headstrong. No arm was stronger than his. No rude
voice contradicted him, no rough shoulder pushed him. From his earliest consciousness
he was the most important, the most interesting, the most influential person
in the world . . .

It was to be expected that his parents and sisters should be passionately
attached to him, and natural affection and pride were immensely heightened
by the circumstance of his extraordinary good looks. In him the Brudenell
beauty had come to flower. He was tall, with wide shoulders tapering to a
narrow waist, his hair was golden, his eyes flashing sapphire blue, his nose
aristocratic, his bearing proud ... the boy had a dash and gallantry that
were irresistible. He did not know what fear was. A superb and reckless horseman,
he risked his neck on the most dangerous brutes. No tree was too tall for
him to climb, no tower too high to scale. He excelled in swordsmanship and
promised to be a first-class shot. He had in addition to courage another characteristic
which impressed itself on all who met him. He was, alas, unusually stupid;
in fact [he was] an ass. The melancholy truth was that his glorious golden
head had nothing in it.

He spent two years at Christ Church, Oxford without taking his Degree; then
in 1818 he became MP for Marlborough. In 1823 whilst he was in Paris, Brudenell
met and fell in love with Elizabeth Johnstone, the wife of a Captain Johnstone
who had left her husband. The pair eloped and set up house at Versailles. In
June 1824 Captain Johnstone started the divorce process; Brudenell did not offer
any defence and did not appear at the court hearing. Johnstone was awarded £1,000
in damages. After the trial, Brudenell offered to give satisfaction to Johnstone,
by fighting a duel. Johnstone was reported as saying that 'he has already given me satisfaction: the satisfaction of having removed the most damned bad-tempered and extravagant bitch in the kingdom'.

In May 1824, at the age of 27, Brudenell joined the army as a Cornet in the
8th Hussars through the influence of the Duke of York. He then proceeded to
make full use of the purchase system for commissions: he became a Lieutenant
in January 1825, a Captain in June 1826, a Major in August 1830. Meanwhile on
26 June 1826 Elizabeth Johnstone's marriage finally was dissolved and she and
Brudenell were married. She was promiscuous, extravagant and bad-tempered and
the marriage was a disaster. There were no children born to the couple.

In December 1830 Brudenell became a Lieutenant-Colonel; in 1832 he moved to
the 15th Hussars at the same rank, having resigned his seat for Marlborough
in 1829 because of a difference with the constituency's owner, the Marquis of
Ailesbury, over Catholic Emancipation.
Brudenell promptly purchased a seat for Fowey. In 1832 he fought a very expensive
election for North Northamptonshire, and was returned along with Lord Milton,
the heir to the Fitzwilliam estates.

Brudenell was disliked by the officers under his command because of the way
he had used the purchase system; his temper also caused perpetual quarrels.
In 1833, he illegally ordered one of his officers, Captain Wathen, into custody
at Cork. Wathen defended himself so well at a court-martial that Brudenell was
persuaded to resign the command of the 15th Hussars. However, his father was
an old friend of William IV and was able to obtain for him the command of the
11th Hussars. He went to India in 1836 but the regiment was ordered home quite
soon afterwards. When he arrived back in Britain, Brudenell found that his father
had died and that he had become the seventh Earl of Cardigan, worth £40,000
a year.

Cardigan continued to have conflicts with his officers but he spent £10,000
a year on the regiment so the 11th Hussars soon became the smartest cavalry
regiment in the army. When it came back from India the regiment was stationed
at Canterbury; it was there that the 'Black Bottle' affair took place. In May
1840 Cardigan ordered the arrest of Captain Reynolds for placing wine on the
mess-table in a black bottle instead of a decanter. Soon afterwards he met another
Captain Reynolds from the regiment, and had him arrested for impertinence. An
account of this event appeared in the Morning Chronicle, written by Captain
Harvey Tuckett; Cardigan promptly challenged him to a duel. At the second shot
Captain Tuckett was wounded and public feeling ran strongly against Cardigan,
who demanded the right to be tried by his peers. The trial took place on 16
February and lasted only for that day. Cardigan was acquitted on a technicality
and retained the command of his regiment until he was promoted to Major-General
on 20 June 1854.

A Trump Card(igan) — Praise for Cardigan from the 1854 Punch

In 1854 the Crimean War broke out; the 57 year old Cardigan was sent out in
command of a cavalry brigade in Major-General Lord Lucan's
division. Lord Lucan and Cardigan were old enemies and brothers-in-law. Cardigan
asserted that his command was independent of Lucan's control but their hostility
manifested itself both at Varna and the day before
the battle of the Alma. When the cavalry camped outside
Balaclava, Lord Lucan lived alongside the men while Cardigan dined and slept
aboard his luxurious yacht in the harbour. Cardigan led the Light
Cavalry into the "Valley of Death" in the charge
of the Light Brigade; he was the first in and the first out of the attack
on the Russian guns and was unscathed.

Cardigan's subsequent conduct was extremely unfortunate. He returned to England
in January 1855 as a hero and was showered with honours. He was made Inspector-General
of Cavalry in 1855; he was created a K.C.B., a Commander of the Legion of Honour
and Knight of the second class of the Order of the Medjidie. He was made Colonel
of the 5th Dragoon Guards in 1859 and was promoted to Lieutenant-General in
1861. He insisted on being regarded as a hero for the rest of his life. After
the war he lived at Deene Park, his Northamptonshire seat, where he died from
injuries caused by a fall from his horse on 28 March 1868.